The Chronicles Of The Change In Remnant
by KnightWriterRLK
Summary: There's a change in the horizon. There are questions left unanswered, but will finding out the answers prove fruitful. Join Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and my O.C. Teams AMHT, RBIN, and PERL in their adventures around Remnant where sudden changes will spark unrest, panic, and chaos. Rated T: For some violence, language, and adult themes. Rating will change as story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a new and special FanFic story that I decided to start up because the ideas that are popping up in my head won me over and they're fun and interesting story ideas, plots, fight scenes, and fluffy romantic scenes to say the least. I'll be releasing new chapters along with my other stories at the same time. It'll be a challenge, but hey, who doesn't love a challenge that we know we can overcome and/or try to overcome? Right?... Right? I'll update as much as I can. Hopefully once a week, or twice a month, if I have the free time. I hope you enjoy this new story of mine.**

**And RWBY doesn't belong to me.**

**The only thing that does belong to me are my Original Characters, the way I write my story, the plot, and the way my Original Characters interact with the Original Canon Characters of RWBY.**

**I'll be making up new types of Grimm. I highly recommend that other RWBY FanFic authors and writers here that want to borrow and use them, should and can borrow and/or improve them since they are the creatures of Grimm. The very embodiments of anonymity. I believe they evolve and change and become tougher to kill since they're attracted to negativity and they choose to feed off humans and faunus. They don't really seem to need to feed. I know that there are many Grimm in the original RWBY Universe that we all haven't been introduced to yet. I can't wait to find out what they are. I hope the show keeps on going strong. **

**I'll also be ****borrowing different types of Grimm from other authors/writers and also the RWBY Fanon page if I can't think of any Grimm to make up. There are already lots of Fan-Made Grimm, so why not let us fans borrow them, right? I will do my best to make up my own though, so if my made up ones sound like yours, then I'm sorry. It's pretty difficult to invent or come up with a new one that sounds like something that's already been made up. To make things easier, I'll just label and title the types of Grimm I used and who made them up after every chapter or after every part 2 or part 3 or end of an extended chapter.**

**Rest In Peace, Monty Oum.  
33 years old.  
You are an amazing man, amazing writer, amazing animator, the father of RWBY and many other excellent animated works.  
You are and will always be missed.  
Your legacy will live on.**

**We RWBY FanFic. writers/authors dedicate our RWBY FanFic works to you.**

**Thank you all for reading my very extensive author's note.**

**Now enjoy my story.**

**This 1st page is the table of contents as I'm sure you've noticed. I plan for this story to be my longest by far. Now head on over to the next page, which is chapter 1 and enjoy.**

**P.S. The disclaimers, questions, my thank you notes, and such for each and every chapter will be at the end of each one or after every part 2 or 3 or end of an extended chapter, so you readers can jump into the story as soon as possible.**

* * *

Table Of Contents:

Volume I -  
The Slow Change

I - Changing Sides  
II - Changing Sides, part 2  
III - The Shocking News! &amp; The Arrangements  
IV - A New School Year Begins!  
V - The Night Before The Initiation  
VI - The Emerald Forest  
VII - The Emerald Forest, part 2  
VIII - New Teams &amp; Their 1st Day  
IX - Trouble In The Cafeteria!  
X - The Next Day, Combat Class Troubles!  
XI - Bullies, Changes, and a Sundae

(Further Chapters Are Being Planned Ahead And This Will Be Updated As Soon As The Next Chapter Is Released)


	2. Chapter 2

**I Don't Own RWBY. **

**I O****wn My Original Characters.**

**Written By: KnightWriterRLK**

* * *

~ My story starts up during the end of the 12th episode of volume 2 of RWBY. Breach. If you haven't watched RWBY yet, then I highly recommend you watch all of it before reading. ~

* * *

~ Chapter 1 - Changing Sides ~

* * *

~ ?'s POV ~

*sigh* A breathe of sudden realization and frustration left her lips as she took in the image that's in front of her. Rocks and debris are spread out among the train tracks near and away from her, some ranging from just a speck of dust to the size of boulders. She's currently in the sealed underground passage system that stretches between Mountain Glenn and the Kingdom of Vale. Light shone through the holes in the ceiling, thanks to the separated and segmented train car explosions from earlier. The sound of the train's wheels as it sped through the underground tunnel were starting to wane from behind her, which meant that she had indeed escaped that Grimm-masked swordswoman that stopped her other-self from finishing off her blonde-haired opponent, much to her relief and satisfaction. Her other-self which she fittingly named Nea... the calculating, blood-thirsty, and battle-lust persona she unfortunately had within her, didn't like the fact that her killing counter was stopped.

**_'Hey! Stop gawking and just standing there like an idiot and get us the hell away from here, unless you forgot what else is here in this tunnel with us, and I'm not talking about the train and the people in it.'_**, said a very intimidating female voice laced with authority and anger in her mind. Nea, her other half, her 2nd persona, warned her like she always did when she was distracted in her own thoughts.

'Oh... yeah, right.', she replied internally as she noticed the first wave of Grimm lunging towards her with no hesitation in their glowing blood-red eyes underneath their white bony masks.

A Grimm with fur that's as black as a moonless night, white bony spikes on certain parts of its limbs, sharp teeth lining the insides of its mouth, and claws that are sharp enough to shred flesh like scissors through paper, lunged towards her with frightening speed. 'This Beowolf looks very unhappy.', she thought to herself while smiling.

_**'Kill this Grimm already! There are, well, I don't know..., half a dozen or more Deathstalkers! Four dozen or more Beowolves! An increasing amount of Creepers! Two dozen or more Boarbatusks! And a King Taijitu behind it! Not to mention the Grimm that's already behind us. I just hope to Monty that most of the Grimm behind us are following that train.'**_, Nea exclaimed with such power and vigor in her voice that the smile that was on the young woman's face faltered for only a millisecond before returning.

She swiftly dodged one claw swipe after another by taking short steps back and shifting her upper body to evade the ferocious and relentless attack from the Grimm. After a few seconds, she used the parasol that she rested against her right shoulder to deflect an incoming strike while simultaneously holding the onyx neck of her parasol with her left hand and twisting the white curved handle of her parasol to unsheathe the long cylindrical blade from within. With her opened parasol/sheathe held in her left, and her cylindrical blade in her right hand, she deflected another claw swipe upwards with her parasol and stabbed the now vulnerable chest of the Grimm; where the heart she presumed was located at, and in one fluid motion, removed her blade from its chest and stabbed its throat, coating herself and her weapon in small droplets of blood that swiftly dissipated into thin air.

Before the now-dead Grimm fell on her, she looked upwards and spotted one of the holes in the ceiling. Having chosen a location, her entire body and her weapons were now coated in her own white aura.

!WHOEW!

Within a second, she was no longer in the underground passage system surrounded by Grimm. Instead, she now found herself in the forest that stood in between Vale and Mountain Glenn, on top of the passage system. She heard growls and howls behind her, and when she turned around, she found that they came from the Grimm within the passage system.

'Now that's a relief.', the young woman thought to herself as she sheathed the cylindrical blade into her parasol/sheathe, clicked it into place to secure it, and rested it comfortably against her right shoulder while holding the curved handle on her right hand. Her aura that coated her body began to dissipate.

_**'Nice job Neo, but don't relax just yet. We're in a Grimm infested forest after all.'**_, Nea reminded her with a normal tone. A very rare tone that Neo heard from her 2nd persona.

'That's true.' *sigh* 'Back to Vale we go. We still need to report to Cinder, after all.'

All of a sudden, she heard a loud explosion and felt a quake coming from the ground that she stood on. 'The train must've reached its mark.' *sigh* 'I hope to Monty that not that many civilians will get injured.', Neo thought to herself with a dejected look on her face.

Neo surveyed her surroundings just in case any Grimm were near, but thankfully, none were around in her part of the forest. The commotion and panic will attract all the nearby Grimm towards Vale, so Neo was thankful to that fact because her trek to Vale just became more secure and less troublesome. She started her walk towards the general direction of Vale with a feeling of relief and regret lingering in her chest.

_**'What's with the negative emotions? Grimm are lured to negativity, remember.'**_

'I know... it's just... I feel terrible for taking part in this plan. We were only supposed to be bodyguards for stuck up douchebags with money to burn, and then we met Roman, became thieves, and now we're coupled with the White Fang and putting innocent lives in danger due to Roman, Cinder, and the White Fang's combined vendetta.' *sigh* 'I just feel like what we're doing now is wrong... why didn't we become a Huntress?'

_**'We're such kickass bodyguards too, with references and everything. Hahahaha. That's most likely how Cinder's Faction found out about us. Though, I do admit that I have felt the same, but hey, as long as we get to kill something, then I'm all for it. And we could've been a Huntress, most likely one of the finest..., but you know that we needed the money first... you know the girls needed it... we didn't have the time to go to a Combat School to train, or get a job. This was our only option.'**_

'I wish it wasn't.'

After a few minutes of walking through the forest and a pause from her conversation with Nea, Neo suddenly realized something and voiced it out internally. 'Hey Nea.'

_**'Yeah, what is it?'**_

'Why are you being nice all of a sudden? It's kinda bothering me...'

_**'...It's because of what happened on the train.'**_

She ducked under low hanging tree branches and trudged on forwards before continuing her inside conversation. 'Care to elaborate.'

_**'I'm being nice to you because your quick thinking and semblance helped us escape that mysterious swordswoman.'**_

'Oh, you mean after taking control of me without my permission and almost killing that blonde brawler. If I had let you finish her off, then that black-haired lady in the Grimm mask would have definitely bisected us.'

_**'Don't get in over your head. I gave you back control because you have the semblance to teleport us a short distance. I would've gladly killed that blonde.'**_

'I didn't want her dead! She was already down for the count. There was no need to shed her blood. She fought really well. Don't you have honor!'

_**'Showing honor to your opponent on the battlefield is a sure fire way to get us killed. It's better to kill them and be done with it.'**_, said Nea with a very cold tone of voice.

Those words sent a shiver down Neo's spine. She really didn't like her other persona as much as she should, because she was the complete opposite of her. Neo loved books, Nea loved video games. Neo was merciful in combat while Nea was ruthless. Neo's semblance is reliable short-distance teleportation while Nea's semblance is deceptive and effective illusions. Neo loved strawberry ice cream while Nea loved chocolate. However, they both love vanilla too. The differences are there, and they always will be, but besides the love of vanilla, they both share the same protecting and loving feelings towards their sisters. Those three are the reasons that Neo and Nea are doing what they're doing. They're the only family that they have, the only ones they love, the only ones they'd sacrifice their beliefs for. In retrospect, their sole reason for living, and for continuing to live the life they now have as a wanted criminal.

*sigh* 'How about I'll let you kill people that actually deserve it? You know, bad people that hurt good people. How does that sound?'

_**'Hmmmm... sounds reasonable enough...'**_

'We can also split Grimm kills and whatever. Does that sound good?'

_**'You drive a hard bargain. I guess I'll accept... for now. Wait, don't we have enough to set our sisters up for the next 5 years or so? Schooling, lodging, and food included?'**_

'Yeah... what does that have to do with...? ...oh...'

_**'I'm just saying.'**_

'What you're saying and implying is that you'll be willing to become a Huntress like we both wanted us to be... a Huntress, a defender, someone our sisters can look up to, we'll no longer be criminals anymore. That's what you're saying and implying.'

_**'So what'cha thinking? We could do it, you know?'**_

'I'd definitely do that at the drop of a hat, but you know we have the White Fang, and Cinder's Faction to worry about first. We essentially failed in protecting the train and Roman. Let's just hope that the douchebag didn't get caught and that the plan went off without a problem.'

_**'Quitting this lifestyle is soooo going to be a blast.'**_, Nea said with such a sarcastic tone that Neo couldn't believe it herself.

'Was that sarcasm coming from you? Talk about a once in a decade occurrence.'

**_'Just zip it and keep on walking. I'm allowed my moments of sudden sarcastic remarks.'_**

'This sudden change must mean that you're as nervous as I am to meet with Cinder again. Am I right?'

**_'SHUT UP!'_**, exclaimed Neo's other half with such ferocity that her knees buckled a little. Straightening her back and her smile faltering to a neutral expression, Neo continues on walking towards the direction of the Kingdom of Vale.

She could see black wisps of smoke coming from the explosion that the speeding train caused to the barrier that used to enclose the underground passage system that connected Mountain Glenn to Vale. Neo trudges on forward, feeling the weight of every step as she took it. She and Nea both know that what awaits ahead of them back at the secret warehouse base of Cinder's Faction and the White Fang won't be pretty. She did fail her mission after all... and she knows very well how failure is non-excusable when being part of Cinder's Faction. Failures are quickly dealt with, with extreme prejudice and merciless action. Neo swallows a wad of spit in her mouth and walks slowly towards Vale, hoping to postpone the inevitable trouble and doom that lies ahead of her.

* * *

After a considerable amount of time walking through the dense forest surrounding Vale, Neo stopped on top of a large hill that was separated from the tree line. Looking up, she spotted the last few hints of the wispy black smoke disappearing into the afternoon sky. From the hilltop, she saw the wall that separated the Kingdom of Vale from the Grimm infested forest. She counted herself lucky that her hour and a half or so of trekking through the forest was a peaceful one because the resulting panic that the explosion and the Grimm incursion into Vale caused, immediately lured in every Grimm in her vicinity of the forest to lounge around and scratch at the impenetrable walls that surrounded the Kingdom. She was at most a half a mile from the castle-like walls, but instead of them being made of brick, mortar, and stone, they were made of different types of metals which were masterfully welded together. The copper/silver colored walls were most likely 40 meters tall, with security towers that added another 5 meters above the walls and spanned a distance of 15 meters from each other. The towers had lights, Atlesian Knight - 200s a.k.a. AK-200s, patrolling the towers and the walls armed with what looked to be rifles from this distance. There were also barbed wire and turrets; each manned by an AK-200 android, lining the tops of the walls and each corner of the towers. It's highly likely that they stationed Atlesian Paladins and put up hidden cameras all over there, but she didn't see any at the moment.

'Talk about security.', Neo thought to herself with an impressed smile on her lips. She lowers her gaze and scans and then estimates the number of the Grimm around the walls and her smile falters.

_**'This is no time to be impressed, though I do admit that I'd like to try out one of those **_**_turrets and give those Grimm some Dust-filled Rounds as a treat, but this is no time to be just standing here. Let's get our last meeting with that woman over with, and walk away from them alive afterwards. Then we can do whatever we want and need to do.'_**

'Yeah, yeah. I got it. I know. I got distracted again, the walls are impressive, but what's got me even more distracted and wondering is why they haven't gotten rid of what looks like hundreds of Grimm surrounding their walls. There's even gigantic looking Grimm towering over their smaller counterparts. What the hell is the Kingdom of Vale's security forces up to?'

**_'Let's not stick around and find out. I'd rather us be alive and figure things like this out later. Now teleport us in there. I can see at most three tall buildings you can reach with your semblance from here. We spent all that time walking, so our aura reserves are full. Let's go.'_**

'This is going to be such a pain.', Neo thought to herself. She knew how depleted she'll be after teleporting herself the maximum distance that she could reach through her semblance. She spent 12 hours bedridden the last time she did it. And the last time that she did do this was a year ago. She didn't fancy the idea of exhausting herself so much that she'll be bedridden again. 'Hopefully it won't be as bad this time around. I've been practicing and exercising with my aura as well as using my semblance. I just hope to Monty that it won't be as bad this time.'

With one last breath of hesitation, Neo channels her aura and within seconds, her entire body; including her parasol, were now coated in a blanket of her own white aura. She chooses the nearest location, which is a tall tower-looking building with what looks like a gigantic clock on it and a fenced platform underneath the clock face of the tower. After another single breath and further concentration, a flash of white light whisks her away to her chosen location.

!WHOEW!

Neo now finds herself on the fenced up semi-circular platform that she chose. Her white aura blanket that coated every part of her body and her parasol now disappears into the wind. She feels beads of sweat rolling down her face and a sudden hint of dizziness leaves her stumbling a little before she rights herself back up to her composed and straightened posture. The fence of the platform in front of her, the gigantic clock's gears can be heard working behind her, the wind whisking and playing with her pink, brown, and white locks of hair.

She releases a breath of sweet relief while thinking, 'That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I've finally reached Vale. Though... getting down from here would mean another use of my semblance, but sadly... I don't think I have enough aura left in me to pull that off.'

Neo turns around to look at the gigantic clock to perceive the time of day that she herself didn't know since she had no scroll or watch on her person at the moment. The silver hands of the gigantic clock in a yellow lit background makes it look all the more alluring with its intricate gears being slightly visible behind the yellow paned glass. If this tower's brickwork was grey instead of red maple, then it would've looked all the more beautiful, but who was Neo to delve into the minds of the architects who designed this tower.

'It's 6:39 PM... I guess I can stay here a while until my aura replenishes itself. At least enough for me to teleport down to the streets and I'll just walk the rest of the way to the warehouse.', she thought to herself as she turns around and walks to the edge of the platform.

Neo puts her free left hand on the black steelwork fence and leans against it slightly to look around and down at the streets below.

'Now _this_ is a beautiful sight.', Neo thought to herself while a smile appears on her beautiful face.

* * *

The strong daylight was now fading into the gentle darkness of the night. Neo was now walking through the streets of Vale, the lights of the lampposts lighting up to chase away the growing shadows of the night. Even though it was getting dark out, she still had her open parasol rested against her right shoulder. She grew up having it rested against her right shoulder whenever she's not using it when she's outside, so it became a harmless habit to her. She doesn't mind the odd glances and weird looks that she receives from the act because she learned to just shrug it off from a young age. She's comfortable with having her parasol rested against her, so how wrong can it be? There's no law to stop her from doing what she's most comfortable with. Until such a time a law such as that is passed, she'll keep on being herself. She's content with that.

**_'Why the hell did we have to wait until 7:55 pm to get down from there? Tell me, now.'_**, demanded Nea.

'It's because the view from there was beautiful. I couldn't pass up the chance to enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of life in Vale from above that tower.'

**_'We just wasted valuable time because you wanted to sight-see. Lucky me.'_**, said Nea with a sarcastic tone in her voice. _**'You're so easily amused that it's sad.'**_

Neo turns a corner and passes a group of 4 people walking past her before replying inwardly. 'You know that I love to take in the view of beautiful things. I can't help but admire the real life master artwork called life. That doesn't mean that I'm easily amused. Life is a blessing, it's art, it's beauty personified, and it's a blessing. I can't believe you don't admire it as much as I do.'

**_'Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just keep on walking. You're gonna bore me to sleep if you keep on talking about your love of art. And just in case you didn't notice through your beauty of art speech, the name of the street that we just passed signifies that we're at least an hour and 45 minutes or so away from the warehouse.'_**

'If only.', thought Neo with a smirk on her face.

_**'I heard that.'**_

Neo silently laughs to herself at her humor and jab at Nea. She keeps on with her chuckling until she suddenly stops in her tracks when she spots the name of a certain shop that caught her interest in her peripheral vision. She stops her bout of laughter and turns to her right and faces the elegant shop called, "The Goldstein's Finest Jewelry, Artworks, and Gems." The name of the shop is held aloft in bright yellow neon letters above the mahogany woodwork and structure of the fine looking shop. The see-through glass panes of the shop peers into a part of the shop where displays of beautiful glass figurines, jewelry, and expensive looking gems were placed upon marble high-rise pedestals for all to see and admire their alluring beauty.

Neo didn't notice when or realize that she walked, stopped, and stood too closely to the glass pane windows and admired the fraction of what the shop had to offer too eagerly. She didn't even notice the twinkling hunger growing in her eyes or the subtle dribble of drool that's rolling down the side of her mouth until Nea snaps her out of her hypnotized state.

**_'Neo! That's gross. You're drooling. Wipe it off, now!'_**

'Huh, what?! I am?', asked Neo inwardly while swiftly wiping the sides of her mouth with the back of her gloved left hand. Neo's cheeks were now slightly pink due to her embarrassment at what just happened to her. 'I can't believe I was drooling... again.'

**_'Well believe it. I swear, you become an awestruck idiot every time we find these artsy stuff that you love so much.'_**

'You know I can't...-'

**_'I know you can't help it.'_**, interrupted Nea. **_'Just, just do whatever you need to do. Just, don't go overboard with the shopping this time. I don't think our apartment has space for anymore artwork. Please.'_**

'Okay, okay. I got it. I'll control myself.', said Neo inwardly while a bright smile appears on her face. Neo knew that this is one of those occasions where Nea lets her do what she wants and that's admiring and buying expensive artwork to put in their apartment. Nea can't stop her from buying gorgeous jewelry, beautiful paintings, and flawless figurines. Nea might not like the idea of having too much artwork around their living space, but Neo loved it. Nea was tolerant when it came to Neo's behavior over art and other things, even though Nea complains. Neo complains about Nea's many different tastes in things and her methods in combat, but she's also very tolerable of her. That's most likely one of the ways their tolerance of each other stems from and grows. Otherwise, they'll both be driven to insanity thanks to each other. This way, they embrace their differences and accept each other for them to a degree. Neo thinks that this is how their relationship with one another has survived thus far, aside for their need and want to provide and protect their 3 little sisters.

Neo closes the canopy of her parasol and now holds it with its ferrule pointed to the ground and opens the red coated mahogany doors of the shop. As soon as she walked in, she was met with the sight of wooden shelves that were filled a plenty with all sorts of glass figurines, gorgeous and very detailed paintings hanging from almost every wall where there were no shelves, and marble pedestals with glass cases that kept the priceless gems within them. These pedestals were strewn all over the small and cosy atrium of the building. This place was the very definition of pure beauty to her. She didn't know she was holding her breath until she coughed and took in more air. This place might not be made like other shops constructed with the norm of building materials in Vale, but it made it all the more beautiful. It gave off the air of a classic store that she's only heard about when she was a child, seen only a handful of times in her travels all over Vale, and read about a few times during her visits to the libraries in Vale. This store had a unique citrus scent mixed with the smell of mahogany wood. A unique scent that she knows shouldn't go well together, but they do.

Neo starts walking carefully around the shop, her parasol still in her right hand, and making sure not to touch any of the expensive looking works of art around her. She's careful as to not let the tip of her parasol touch the polished wood floors, for fear that she'll scratch or dent the surface of it with her weapon. As she admires one piece of art after another with child-like wonderment evident on her face, she didn't care to notice the amber eyes that followed her every move from behind the counter with silent and unamused vigilance. Neo didn't notice the person behind the counter when she walked in, but she didn't care at the moment because she was otherwise occupied.

When she reached the 5th marble pedestal, a gorgeous necklace caught her eye. It was a simple looking silver chain necklace, but it held an interesting looking gemstone, the color of topaz. The label on it read that it was a "Silver Chain Necklace With A Rare Myriad Mood Gemstone", and the price tag on it read that it costs "15,000 Lien".

'I want this necklace so badly.'

**_'Why? It looks so simple. I don't think it's worth it. As if anyone would pay 15,000 Lien for this thing.'_**

Ignoring Nea's comment, Neo turned around and started walking over to the counter. She didn't notice anyone behind it until she turned around just now. Her pink and brown eyes met the amber eyes of a girl that looked a year younger than her. The slight look of surprise on her face couldn't be seen because her smile never faltered. Her perusing through this amazing shop increased her levels of joy to a whole new height.

Neo walked up to the front of the counter and got a closer look at the young girl behind it who had a sort of watchful look about her.

'She might be the owner's daughter or something.', thought Neo.

The young woman was wearing an elegant silver dress with sleeves that reached her elbows, black gloves with silver, brown, and blue swirls on them, a black and white jacket with silver trimming the edges and the collar, and a black fedora with a silver ribbon tied into a bow around it. The fedora was tilted to the right side of her head. Her long and wavy blonde hair and pale white complexion along with her outfit, made her look like a model or a movie star.

'This girl looks so cute. She might be a few inches taller than me, but she's so cute.'

**_'Stop looking at this surprisingly adorable cashier and just buy the damn necklace already. If you linger anymore longer, then she might just call the authorities.'_**, warned Nea.

'Oh, yeah. You're right.' *sigh* 'Here comes the awkward part about shopping.'

**_'I know Neo. It's the price we pay for being mute. I keep telling you to keep a small notepad and a pencil or pen in hand, but do you listen, no. So just get the introduction over with. This girl is giving you odd looks. You better introduce yourself, and fast.'_**

*sigh* Neo lets out one more breathe of apprehension and places her parasol, leaning it against the wooden counter and takes out her wallet that she keeps on the front-right pocket of her brown jeans. She takes out the laminated white cards that she keeps on hand and shuffles through them and places them in order before using them. She looks up and meets the curious and still ever watchful look of the blonde cashier and holds up the 1st laminated white card that read,

"Hi, my name is Neo. I'm a mute. And this is how I communicate with others. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The curious and watchful look of the blonde shifted into what looked like an apologetic and kind look as soon as she finished reading the card that Neo held up with her right hand. The blonde held out her right hand before saying with a shy smile,

"Ummm... h-hi Neo. M-My name is B-B-Brooke. This is actually my 1st time d-d-dealing with a c-c-customer. I'm sorry about the looks I was giving you. It's j-j-just that you look like you're my age, and you're short like me, so I was curious, and wary, and my parents are somewhere else at the moment and-and-and... I'm shutting up now." As she finished, her hand faltered a bit and she looked down, in both embarrassment and shame in her introduction and the looks she gave her 1st customer. Brooke was expecting the mute girl to leave, but what she didn't count on was for the mute girl to take her hand and shake it with both hands while looking happy and the smile that she had was still on her face. Brooke couldn't stop herself from returning the smile.

When their enthusiastic handshake stopped, Brooke once again spoke, "It's a pleasure to m-m-meet you. How may I help you today?"

Neo held out another laminated card which said,

"I'd like to buy something that caught my eye."

"Okay, that sounds g-g-good. And would you m-m-mind if I gave you a notepad and a pen? I feel like it'll be easier f-f-for you to communicate that way than shuffling through cards.", voiced out Brooke with a sheepish smile.

**_'Well isn't this young one clever? Do it Neo. Say yes, or nod your head, or something.'_**

Neo nodded her head and held up another card that said,

"That would be lovely."

Neo put her laminated cards back in her wallet while Brooke took out a notepad and a pen and gave it to Neo.

Neo wrote down her words and held up the notepad to Brooke when she finished. It said,

"Thank you. I appreciate this. You're actually the 1st one I've met that suggested I use a notepad and pen."

Brooke shook her head a little in disbelief and said, "That's surprising. It seemed the more l-l-logical choice t-t-to me." After a second, Brooke smiled a little and said, "I am glad I suggested it to you. You can keep the notepad and pen if you want."

"Thank you."

"You're v-v-very welcome. Now what did you want to buy?"

"I wanted to buy the silver chain necklace that has the rare myriad mood gemstone on it. The one that costs 15,000 Lien."

Neo was expecting the disbelieving look that crosses all the cashiers and salespersons that she ever met when she's ready to buy and pay for the things she wants. The look that says, "I don't believe you have enough funds to buy these, or that, or whatever", until Neo does pay for it. Leaving the shopkeepers slack-jawed, and embarrassed that they mistrusted a high-paying customer that bought from them after being scrutinized by them.

Neo, however, didn't expect Brooke's smile to brighten and for her to say, "Wow, nice choice. It's one of our rarest collector items. It's one of the most expensive things we have in our shop at the moment. Would you like to know why a simple yet elegant-looking piece of jewelry is worth so much?"

**_'This young girl is both nice, friendly, and trusting. Not like those other shopkeepers and their judgmental ilk that we've met so far. Say yes, because I know that we both want to know why that thing costs so damn much.'_**

'Yeah, I got it. I was going to say yes in the 1st place.'

"Yes, I would like to know."

After Brooke finished reading Neo's reply, she began her eloquent and extensive explanation. "Well, the reason for it is very intricate, but simple at the same time. The gemstone on the necklace is a very rare find. It was found by a group of hunters and huntresses that traveled to the southern islands of Remnant. When their mission was over, they returned with a gigantic gemstone that was about the size of a basketball. They weren't allowed to say which island, because it was a top secret mission and all. But what we do know for sure is that the gemstone they found had special qualities that pertained to dust. Dust scientists and researchers haven't a clue as to how or why and they did extensive research on the gemstone itself with amazing results that weren't released to the public. They did, however, find out that certain auras and semblances can have different effects on the gemstone and the aura user as well. Sadly, there was an accident with one of their experiments, and the giant gemstone shattered into half a million pieces, leaving them inert and in slivers of their former self. That small oval-shaped gem on that silver chain is one of the pieces. The scientists and researchers found that the slivers of the once giant gemstone can no longer be activated or touched by anyone's aura or semblance. They labeled them inert and sent them all across the four kingdoms. They sent them to every jewelry store, wares store, research lab, and dust company to figure and experiment with them and do with them as they see fit. Our store was lucky enough to receive a few pieces. My parents figured that we should sell them as jewelry since the dust researchers and scientists needs the pay-off since they spent more than a year in experimenting with the gemstone in hopes of getting more funds for their research when their results proved to be fruitful. Since their research was labeled a failure, the governments of the four kingdoms decided to not pay them as much as they should've been. That one piece over there is supposed to be 5,000 Lien, but we increased it to 15,000 Lien. Our family's store will get 15% of the cut while the researchers and scientists get the rest. Of course, you noticed that we made the chain as well as the silver holder; that holds the gemstone, even more intricate and exquisite to further enhance the beauty of the gem. You won't be upset with the price you'll pay for it since the effort my family puts into everything we sell in our shop is top-class and nothing like other shops."

**_'Well... that was... informative. And this girl didn't stutter once when she talked about the gem's history and stuff. All I can say is, damn, that was a mouthful.'_**

'I agree. That was very interesting. I'm more interested in it now. I feel like I'm more interested in it now than I was before.'

_**'How did I know you were going to say that?'**_, Nea asked rhetorically. **_'Just buy it already.'_**

When Brooke finished, she had a twinkling look about her within her amber eyes.

Neo had a bright smile on her face as she wrote,

"That was very informative. Thanks for telling me all that. I didn't know it held so much history. Now I really want to buy it and wear it. It looks gorgeous and it's history is beautiful."

"You're very welcome. Thanks for l-l-listening to me t-t-talk about it. I h-h-hope I wasn't bragging all that much in the e-e-end. I'll get the necklace for you, just wait here.", said Brooke while looking at her gloved hands and intertwining her fingers.

Before Brooke even took two steps from behind the counter, Neo poked her on the shoulder to get her attention. When she got Brooke's attention, Neo was smiling and held up the notepad with the words,

"Don't worry about it. And you're welcome. I could listen to you talk about jewelry forever. You have a nice voice. I'm sure you'll get used to talking to people. And you didn't brag, because it's not bragging if you can do it and if you're proud of you and your family's ability."

Brooke turned to Neo with a small smile and said, "Thanks." Brooke quickly turned and started walking around the counter, hiding the slight blush that crept her cheeks, because she hasn't been given a sincere compliment like that before.

Brooke suddenly stopped in her tracks when she heard the door to her family's store open. Neo heard it too and looked towards the door. Brooke and Neo watched 3 figures clad in black walk in.

The smile on both the young women's faces vanished when 3 masked men wearing black ski-masks, black jackets, black pants, black and white sneakers, and black leather gloves walked into the store holding handguns. The masked men pointed their guns at them as they walked towards them, their heavy footfalls echoing throughout the store.

One of them shouted, his voice sounding electronically distorted, "This is a hold-up as you both can clearly see. Give us your lien, scrolls, valuables, and we'll be on our way."

"Some jewelry too and maybe your numbers if ya don't mind.", said another masked man while chuckling. The electronic distortion also laced in his voice.

'They must all have voice inhibitors, so no one will recognize their voices.'

Neo now had a neutral look on her face as she didn't move from her spot. Brooke, however, had a look of panic as she was trying not to hyperventilate.

_**'These guys just walked in on the wrong shop. Hahahahaha. I'll take care of them.'**_

'Be my guest. Just don't get Brooke hurt _and_ don't destroy any of the priceless works of art in this amazing store.'

_**'Sure.'**_

'_And _don't kill them. Just beat them up.'

**_'Gladly!'_**, said Nea with obvious ferocity and energy.

The three masked men kept on approaching the counter. Brooke was still trying to calm herself down while thinking, 'Do something, do something, do something. You're supposed to be brave you dimwit. Calm down, calm down, calm down. Neo's not moving from her spot, she must be frozen in fear like I am. Just move, just move, just move. Or cast a dust spell, or something. Come on Brooke.'

One of the masked men yelled out, "Hey! Didn't you two hear us? Give us your lien and your valuables. If you move, then you die."

One of the masked men approached Neo and pointed his gun at her forehead before saying, "Hey, what's your issue? Frozen in fear or something."

The three masked men and Brooke were both dumbstruck at what happened next.

!QISHHHHH!

Neo, her parasol that leaned itself against the counter along with the notepad and pen that she held, shattered into a million pieces of glass. The glass pieces shattered into even minuscule pieces and disappeared into nothingness. The notepad and the pen were now on the counter.

Brooke's eyes were wide like saucers while the masked men just stood there, awestruck and distracted at what just happened in front of them. They were so distracted that they didn't notice Neo; now Nea, standing behind them with her closed parasol held in her left hand and her cylindrical blade held in her right hand. A playful smile on her lips and her eyes changed from brown on the left and pink on her right to its reverse, indicating that Nea's now in control of their body.

'Is she a huntress...?', Brooke asked herself inwardly, noticing that Neo was behind the robbers.

Before the robbers could say or do anything, Nea expertly stabbed and slashed at the robber's arms, severing their nerves and muscles.

The robbers dropped their guns and turned around to gawk at the one who disarmed them. Their arms now hung loosely at their sides, unresponsive and unusable. The blood from their fresh wounds were dripping profusely down their arms and onto the polished wood floors.

'Did she j-j-just sever the nerves and muscles on their arms? W-W-Who is this girl?', thought Brooke with a look of shock and surprise on her face while her hands covered her mouth.

"What the hell did you do to us?", asked one of the robbers.

Nea didn't answer his question, not that she would even if she could talk. Instead, she just walked towards them with that playful smile still on her face. Nea waved her blood-coated blade downwards, removing the blood, but splattering it all over the floor and at the robbers. The masked men backed away while they all thought the same sentence at the same time, 'We're dead!'

!QISHHHHH!

Nea shattered into a million pieces of illusionary glass once again, leaving the sight of the masked men and Brooke.

The next thing Brooke saw was Nea appearing out of thin air, a feet away, behind the masked men with just her closed parasol held in both her hands.

!ISH! !ISH! !ISH!

Nea swiftly smacked the backs of the necks of the three men clad in black with so much force that they fell forward into unconsciousness.

!THUD! !THUD! !THUD!

After the final thud, Nea's eyes reverted back. Neo was now in control. Neo didn't want to think it, but she was admiring the handiwork that Nea left. The playful smile that Nea had was now replaced with a neutral look now on Neo's face.

'Good job.'

**_'Think nothing of it. It's too bad that it ended too soon, but oh well. It was still fun. Hahahah.'_**

"N-N-Neo... t-t-thanks for t-t-that.", voiced out Brooke in such a hushed tone that Neo almost didn't hear it, but she did.

Neo turned around and looked at Brooke and was met with a surprising look that she didn't expect to come from the young girl who just witnessed her other-self in action.

Brooke was in tears, but she had a bright smile on her face. It was a sincere and grateful smile. It wasn't fake. Neo and Nea could tell right away if it was, and this girl was smiling wholeheartedly. A sight that Neo and Nea haven't seen in anyone else, except their sisters.

Neo picked up the notepad and pen, walked a few paces away from the knocked out and bleeding robbers, and gestured for Brooke to follow her.

Brooke quickly followed Neo's movements and was now facing her from across the counter.

Neo quickly wrote in her notepad with a neutral expression, clear as day, on her face and held it up for the crying blonde to see.

"I'm sorry that you had to see me like that.

"I-I-It's alright. You saved my l-l-life after all, and you did what was r-r-right. I'm sorry that I d-d-didn't do anything to h-h-help."

"It's alright. They had the drop on us. The only thing I did was use my semblance to get the upper hand and knock them out. I'm just glad that you're safe and that they didn't steal anything. Before we continue our conversation, we need to find something to shackle or hold these guys down until the authorities arrive. You should call them now."

After Brooke finished reading what Neo wrote on her notepad, she walked the long way around the counter to meet Neo at where she stood while saying, "I will f-f-forever be g-g-grateful to you. You did more than j-j-just knock them out. What you did was amazing and h-h-heroic. I am forever grateful. And d-d-don't worry about f-f-finding rope or something. I've got it h-h-handled. I'll call the authorities as soon as I r-r-restrain these guys."

**_'Let's see what she means by that.'_**

'I know that tone. Don't get judgmental or assume anything, Nea. And besides, if she moved a muscle that didn't look like she was opening the cash register and giving them her valuables, then she'd be dead. I'm glad you dealt with those men swiftly.'

**_'Hehehe. I can't believe I'm getting praise from you. It feels so damn odd.'_**

Neo watched Brooke with curious eyes as Brooke turned the corner, smiled at her a little bit, dried her eyes with the sleeves of her jacket, and walked over to Neo. Neo saw the rest of Brooke's outfit. Brooke's elegant looking silver dress went down past her knees. She was wearing white floral stockings and silver, and black colored combat boots.

'Her cuteness level just skyrocketed. Seeing her in her complete outfit right now, just did that. Wow.' Neo had to suppress her urge to smile really brightly at the young girl, because the blonde might think oddly of her. She doesn't want to scare off her potential 1st friend.

Neo saw Brooke cautiously walk over the unconscious bodies of the robbers. Neo walked around and held her parasol at the ready, just in case the robbers woke up. All of a sudden, Brooke touched the hem of her jacket with her hand right hand and both the jacket and her right hand glowed a faint brown and red glow.

'Is that dust embedded in her jacket? Is she a huntress in training?'

The red and brown dust came together on Brooke's right hand and her hand started glowing white. Brooke launched the now-white cloud of dust from her right hand at the men on the ground and within seconds, glass shackles and handcuffs held the men's feet and hands to the ground.

"That should h-h-hold them. It may be glass, b-b-but it's stronger than st-st-steel. I made it myself, after all.", said Brooke as she turned to look at Neo with a smile on her face and dried tear stains on her cheeks. Brooke looked down at the ground and a frown soon replaced her smile. "I should've h-h-helped you, but I'm such a c-c-coward. I can handle Grimm, b-b-but I freeze up d-d-during a hostage situation. I'm such a l-l-loser."

**_'Oh Monty, I don't like it when girls cry. Do something Neo, do something quick.'_**

Brooke felt her tears running down her face again. While she had her head down as she's trying to wipe her tears away, she didn't notice Neo leaning her parasol against the counter, grabbing the notepad and pen, and writing on it, before she put them both down on the counter and walked up to Brooke and gave her a warm and comforting hug.

The young woman with brown and pink hair with white streaks and small in stature was comforting the crying blonde who towered over her by a few inches, but Neo didn't mind. Neo suspected that this girl might have some confidence issues, but she's sure that Brooke will find a way to get past that. 'She's gifted. I'm sure she'll do amazing things in the future.'

Brooke stopped her crying and said, "Thank you. I'm sorry for breaking d-d-down like this. I'm a t-t-total stranger, but you're c-c-comforting me nonetheless. I'm such a m-m-mess."

They broke off the hug and Neo went over to her notepad and wrote on it again. Neo then held it up to Brooke's face again.

"I'm very impressed with what you did. Keep it up and you'll be able to achieve great things. And Brooke, you're not a coward or a loser. Everyone freezes up in different situations every once and a while. That just makes you a normal person like me; as normal as I can get with this mix and match of hair color anyways, because every person has their moment of weakness. I have my moments, believe it or not. So don't beat yourself up over this, okay? And you're welcome, and also it's alright. I'm happy to be here for a kind and friendly stranger like you. I also have my messy moments, believe me."

"N-N-Neo, you're the b-b-best. I'll try to not beat myself up over this. Thank you so much. And you may be a quiet person, but you've been like a friend to me more than anyone else ever has. Thank you.", said Brooke after she read Neo's notepad. Brooke then brought Neo into a quick yet very tight hug, before turning around and headed towards the marble pedestal that had the gemstone necklace that Neo wanted to buy.

As she walked, Brooke wiped away more of her tears and took out a scroll from her jacket pocket.

"I'll call the authorities now and then I'll get your necklace for you."

As Brooke was calling the authorities, Neo smiled at the girl while thinking, 'I hope my words, albeit written ones, were enough to calm her down and help her.'

**_'I'm sure you helped her. You always have a way with words. Well doesn't that sound ironic, but whatever. Me, I have my ways with my actions. As you have clearly seen me.'_**

'Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a badass with dealing with bad people. I know.'

**_'Well enough about me, hahahaha, let's just hope that the authorities don't arrest us. You know what? So that we won't get arrested, let's get the hell out of here after she calls them and you pay for that necklace. Just don't wear it yet, okay?'_**

'I was thinking the same thing. Good idea, but why shouldn't I wear it after I buy it?'

**_'Oh, I don't know, it's probably because we_****_'re already wearing 3 black bead necklaces and 2 silver bead necklaces around our neck.'_**

'Oh... true. I guess I'll wear it later then.'

Neo's inner conversation with Nea was enough to tune out the sound of Brooke talking to the authorities, but Neo was still watching over Brooke. Brooke was now on the other side of the counter, near the register, with the necklace in hand while she's typing away at the register.

"I called the nearest s-s-security forces building. They're s-s-sending over 3 squad units. I told them what h-h-happened and for a c-c-clearer understanding of what happened, they w-w-want to see the video f-f-feed and everything."

"Okay. So, do I have to stay here to give my statement? Even though my statement will just be on paper since I'm a mute."

"Oh, d-d-don't worry. You can go as s-s-soon as you pay f-f-for this necklace. I think they'll b-b-be fine with me j-j-just being the only witness that'll give my statement. And besides, my f-f-family's store has the l-l-latest video security s-s-system. They'll hear everything and s-s-see everything that happened from the b-b-beginning.", said Brooke with a smile.

Neo gave Brooke her debit card before writing,

"That's good. I'd feel pretty awkward writing my statement without actually telling them what happened. Then they'll ask me what happened and why I'm like this, but it's private. And then, they'll ask why, and then more questions, and I don't think I'm in the mood for that tonight."

Brooke swiped the card to the register, typed in a few things, and then the receipt came out. Brooke put that and the necklace in a small plastic bag and gave it to Neo, along with her debit card, with a smile. "Yeah, I kinda f-f-figured that was the c-c-case."

"Thanks for understanding. I'll see you around."

"You're welcome. I'll s-s-see you around."

Neo was about to walk to the doors, before she turned around, and wrote something for Brooke to see.

"You're a huntress in training, right?"

"Y-Y-Yeah. I am. I'll be attending Beacon the n-n-next year. I'm happy that I g-g-got in at all."

"Excellent. I hope I'll see you there."

After Brooke read those words, her smile got even brighter, mirroring Neo's smile. Neo then waved goodbye and walked out the door.

*sigh* "I hope I do see her again. She was nice.", said Brooke to herself. "Wait, she forgot her notepad and pen..." Brooke grabbed the pen and notepad, and was about to walk outside, before her scroll went off. She took it out of her jacket pocket and looked at the caller ID. 'Mom and Dad, oh fiddles, I forgot to tell them what happened. And are those the sirens?', Brooke asked herself as she turned her head to listen for a second, before answering her parent's call.

Neo stuffed the small plastic bag with her new necklace down her front-left pants pocket and headed towards the warehouse. She could hear the sounds of sirens getting closer, but she payed them no mind.

**_'What the hell? Do you even know where Beacon...? Wait Beacon?! Isn't that where Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury are? The academy that they _****_infiltrated. Oh... shit.'_**

'Yeah, that's the school. It looks like we've got an academy to go to after tonight. We've got some rats that need to be flushed out. Cinder's Faction needs to be dealt with, or else the hunters and huntresses there and the ones training to become one will be in danger. That includes Brooke. I don't want my 1st potential friend to be in harm's way.'

**_'Let's hope we make it out of this alive to warn them. And Neo, she's our 1st potential friend. Got it?'_**

'Yeah, I got it.', thought Neo while smiling to herself.

* * *

After a long while of walking and getting herself mentally prepared, Neo now found herself in front of the side entrance to the warehouse...


End file.
